Nostril-expander.



H. R. WOODWARD.

NOSTRIL EXPANDER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.15,1913.

1,077,574. Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

UNrrED- STATES HENBY B. WOGDWABD, OF DEESBUBG,

nos'rmn-nxranm Specification of Shatter-s Patent.

Application filed January 15, 1918. Serial No. 742,093.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY R. Woonwann, of Leesburg, Loudoun county, Virginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Nostril-Expanders, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in nostril expanders, and is an improvement on the device for which I obtained Letters Patent of the United States No. 851,048, .dated April 23rd, 1907.

The object of the invention is in a general way the same as that of the former i11- vention mentioned, that is, to produce a simple device which can be easily applied to the nose, and which will hold the nostrils expanded to provide for a free passage of air through the nostrils and'to the lungs. A principal use for a device of this sort is to prevent snoring, and when applied to the nose, it expands the nostrils so that there is a suflicient supply of air flowing through the nostrils, and so the wearer does not 0 n his mouth to get an adequate supply. ith many people the nostrils have a tendency to collapse more or less, thus restricting the air passages, and the expander prevents this. Moreover, the expander can be used to advantage by athletes when performing violent exercises, to increase the supply of air to the lungs, and to prevent collapse of the walls of the nostrils.

The specific objects of my present invention, however, are to arrange the structure so that its simplicity will be preserved, but so that it can be applied tothe middle cartila e of the nose, much as eyeglasses are applied to the bridge of the nose, so as to grlp the cartilage firmly and yet be easy to the wearer, and hold the device in the correct position. Also to provide spring extensions in connection with the gripping part of the 7 device, which extensions spring from the gripping portions and extend'into contact with the outer walls of the nostrils.

In carrying out the invention the device should be made of s ring material, and I have used gold for this purpose, though silver and other materials can be used to advantage.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Patented Nov. a, 1913.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device as applied to the nose, the outline of the nose and middle cartilage bei cated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device as applied to the nose, the outline of the nose being also indicated in dotted lines, and Fig. 3 IS a detail perspective view of the device. v

The device is made preferably of wire, and can be made of any suitable sprin y material which will hold its shape and e substantial enough to prevent collapse .or

partial collapse of the nostril walls. The middle portion of the device is of a general U shape as shown at 10 so that it can straddle the middle cartilage of the nose and press with sulficient firmness upon it, and the front extremity of this middle portion of the device is bent downward as shown at 10 so that when the middle part is up against the nose, the body of the device can extend upward and inward into the nostril cavity. The two side members of the part 10 merge into coils or rings 11, and these indican be rigid rings, but are preferably in the members with sufiicient surface to firmly contact with the nose cartilage, and the additional purpose of lending springiness to the side members 12 which spring from the rings or coils 11, and which are curved so as to lie comfortably and fit nicely within the nasal cavity, and also afford a suflicient surface to distribute the pressure and be comparatively eas for the wearer. By curving the parts in t is way they cover the larger part of the outer wall of the nostril, so as to prevent partial collapse. The side members 12-also preferably terminate in short loops 13, which are doubled over, and are not likely to engage injuriously the flesh of the wearer. The front portions of the rings 11 are preferably flattened as at 11, so that they will fit snugly against the wall within the nose, and thus aid in holding the device in the right position.

It will be seen by reference to Figs. 1 and 2 that the device can be readily slipped upward into the nose so as to straddle the cartilage thereof, and that the middle gripping portion secures its position, while the side members 12 act as braces against the outer walls of the nostrils toprevent them from collapsing. It will be observed that there is no danger of the device entering the head too far, and as it is made of rather fine wire, it does not in any way obstruct the breathing. A further advantage of this wire construction is that if there is any peculiarity of shape in the nasal cavity of a person, he can with a pair of pincers, bend the wire of the device so as to make it conform perfectly to the shape of the nasal cavity.

I claim A nostril expander comprisin a U shaped central member or bridge shape to straddle the nose cartilage, said member having a downward bend at its niddle portion, said bend merging into side members which ex- 15 i tend rearwardly in the nasal cavity, the side i members merging in gripping coils which are adapted to grip the nose cartilage, and

the gripping coils merging into curved members whlch extend rearward, outward, 20

and forward so as to support the walls of the nose.

HENRY R. WOODVVARD. Witnesses:

J. H. CARTER, WALTER H. BURKE. 

